


Take care of you

by Daydreamdreamer16



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Comfort, Gay, Jealous Harry, M/M, Protective Harry, Teacher Louis, brother harry, larry - Freeform, marcel - Freeform, mental disability, one direction - Freeform, song writer Harry, zerrie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 14:22:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5251466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daydreamdreamer16/pseuds/Daydreamdreamer16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marcel was born with intellectual disability disorder so he doesn't properly understand things and struggles to take care of himself alone. Harry is his big brother and legal guardian who will look after him and protect him no matter what. Louis is a high school teacher who happens to have Marcel in his Drama class. What will happen when his and Harry's paths happen to cross. Can harry deal with the feelings he's developing for the teacher and can he balance them with his responsibilities to Marcel?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Harry woke with a start, eyes quickly darting around the room to find the cause of the disruption to his sleep. Finding nothing out of place he looked over at the clock that was lit up on his bedside table informing him it was 2:34 am. Confusion as to why he had woken so early was over powered by the wave of sleepiness that hit him before he could delve any deeper into it, however the exact moment his head hit the pillow he heard a noise coming from outside his room.

Ok he defiantly wasn't imagining that. He rubbed his face, realising that he really ought to shave, and he slowly got out of bed, walking towards his door and opening it quietly. He wasn't scared just curious knowing that the source of the shuffling could only really be one thing due to the extensive security harry had installed in the flat, some would call him paranoid but he just liked to think he was cautious. 

Opening the door he made his way through the flat towards the source of the noise until he came across the sight that he was pretty much expecting. Marcel was crouched down looking through the bottom cupboard for something, seemingly unsuccessful if the array of different bottles, tubs and containers littering the floor was anything to go by. 

He stepped forward slowly not wanting to scare his boy 'Marcey what are you doing darling?' Harry asked in a soft voice making his presents known. Despite his efforts not to scare the boy, Marcel quickly spun around with a squeak, banging his head on the cupboard door in the process, through the darkness harry could make out a look that was somewhere between worried and terrified on the boy's face. 

'Sorry darling I didn't mean to scare you' he said advancing towards Marcel, noticing the curly haired boy's hands where behind his back suspiciously like he was trying to hide something.

'H-Hazzy w-w-what are you doing here?' Marcel asked with a stutter, 'I think the real question her Marcey is what are you doing out here? it's half past two in the morning' harry said with a hint of sternness to his voice. As much as Marcel looked uncomfortable he new that that voice was not one to be messed with. Suddenly finding something very interesting in the general direction of the floor, Marcel mumbled out a few inaudible words that Harry couldn't make out 'sorry I didn't quite catch that' Harry replayed to the slightly shaking boy.

He wasn't trying to be mean but Harry couldn't sort out the problem if  
Marcel didn't talk to him 'I-I....' Marcel stuttered out, Harry gave him a reassuring look '....messed the bed' came a soft voice and even through the Half lit room Harry could make out the blush appearing on his younger brothers face. Before Harry could say anything Marcel was quick to start mumbling things like 'please don't be mad Hazzy' and 'I'm really sorry' all with a slight stutter starting to hyperventilate. 

Harry closed the small gap between them taking the messy sheets from Marcel's hands and bringing the younger boy into a bear hug, Marcel instantly reciprocated falling into his brothers chest. 'I would never be mad at you for something like this baby you know that, there's no need to be sorry' he said soothingly whilst dragging his hand through Marcel's curls, years of experience letting him know it was the quickest way to calm him down before he got too out of control. 

They stood like that for a while until Marcel's breathing evened out, when it eventually did Harry gently pushed Marcel from his chest and looked at his teary face wiping a few stray tears 'why don't you go and lay down in my bed and I'll talk care of this, I'll be in in a minute' Harry whispered placing a kiss on top of his head. Marcel slowly nodded and padded his way to Harry's room.

He turned and picked up the now solid sheets from the floor and threw them in the washing machine, quickly finding the fabric softer Marcel liked and the washing powder Marcel had tried and failed to find. For anyone who didn't know Marcel they'd probably find it odd that a seventeen year old was still wetting the bed but Harry knew that it really wasn't his fault. 

See Marcel was born with ID, intellectual disability, which meant he mentally developed slower than your average person so he found it hard to make decisions, struggled with reasoning and hadn't developed some of the skills needed for day to day living. 

He also had a stutter which actually used to be a lot worse when he was younger, although it can still be detected now and again in his everyday speech it only becomes really obvious when he's nervous, scared or anxious. He also has type one diabetes so has to have an insulin injection twice a day.

Many people question why Harry, a 22 year old, would take it upon himself to look after Marcel and often wonder why he didn't just put him in a special unit but that is something Harry would just never, could never, do and if anyone tried to he'd do a lot more than just knock the fucker out, he loved his little brother more than anything and would never see him as a burden.

He's been looking after him alone for nearly four years but some could argue that he had been doing that his whole life anyway, you see Marcel didn't become this way by chance, his brain didn't develop properly because his mother had drank excessively and did the odd drug while pregnant despite Harry's best efforts to prevent it. He tries not to think about that though because it only wound him up and makes him angry and Marcel didn't need to see him like that. 

He'd been Marcel's legal guardian for the past four years which hadn't been much of a fight as his mother pretty much signed him  
over without a second thought as soon a Harry had turned eighteen. He wasn't rich by any means but he had written a few very successful songs for some successful musicians which he continued to do and that payed quite well, well good enough for him to support himself and Marcel anyway. 

Although Marcel may have this disability it wasn't as severe as some other cases and he was able to perform day to day activities relatively normally it's just some things Harry had to help him with, it was the emotion and reasoning side of it that he struggled with most. 

When he was finished he headed back to his bedroom and found Marcel sound asleep sprawled out in the middle of his bed. With a fond smile he made his way over and as quietly as he could without waking Marcel he climbed into the bed, however Marcel sleepily turned to face harry and buried his face into his shoulder, liking the comfort he found there, he'd been doing it since he was little and Harry didn't mind it one bit. He wound his arms around the boy and whispered an 'I love you Marcey' before closing his eyes.

'Love you to Hazzy' came a soft voice from Harry's chest. Cosy and comfortable and beyond tired, with his brother close and safe Harry drifted of into a peaceful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter I hope you like it xx

The loud sound of his alarm clock woke Harry from his sleep at 7:00am the next, or I suppose the same, day. He looked down at the mess of curls tickling his chin and found Marcel was dribbling on his chest. Cringing slightly he gently shifted Marcel from his body onto the other side of the bed so he could sit up shaking out his hair and rubbing his eyes.

He mentally went through what he had to do today, he was due in the studio with Ed to discuss his upcoming single that the two had spent a large majority of their time together working on.

He got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a shower deciding to let Marcel sleep a little longer since he didn't have to leave for school until eight. 

Marcel had been going on about how he wanted to start getting the bus instead of having his big brother drop him off but Harry had outright refused, they didn't live in a particularly dangerous neighbourhood but you never know who might be lurking on the bus and what if he had a panic attack or something or somebody tried to speak to him? No Harry just couldn't allow that and Marcel had eventually dropped the topic. 

He knew he was being a bit overprotective and maybe, just maybe, a tiny bit paranoid, Zayn had even had the nerve to call him irrational but he was just making sure Marcy was safe, and Zayn may be his best mate but he was also a tosser and for some reason Harry will never understand Marcel seemed to love him. 

Climbing out of the shower he made quick work of drying himself and dressing in some black skinny jeans and a casual white t shirt, letting his hair dry naturally into the normal unruly curls that Zayn had once had the audacity to refer to as a bush....let's just say he won't be comparing his mop of hair to natural objects again anytime soon. 

He entered the bedroom again, after making himself a cup of tea and grabbing the insulin shot, to wake the sleeping boy. He sat on the edge of the bed and gently started running his fingers through the, still slightly stiff from gel, hair 'Marcy it's time to get up sweetheart' 

Marcel slowly cracked the eye that wasn't hidden by the pillow open and focused on Harry 'ugghh I don't want to get up' he said in an almost whiney tone 

'Come on babe you have to we've got to leave in half an hour and you've got to have your shot' After a few more groans he just buried himself further into the sheets. Marcel has never been a morning person and Harry had come to expect this behaviour 

'If you don't get that ass of yours out of bed in the next five seconds you and this duvet cover are going to be parting ways' he threatened and Marcel new he was serious from previous experiences. 

He did look like he was seriously debating defying Harry but thought better of it 'I hate you' he said pulling his drowsy body into a sitting position. 'No you don't you love me' Harry sing songed. He delivered the shot and told Marcel how brave he was because he knew the boy still hated the injections even after having them twice a day for the past ten years, Harry was the only one he let deliver them though anybody else even tried and marcel would have a fit. He made his way out of the room satisfied that his little brother was awake, leaving with a threat of 'if I don't see you in fifteen minutes bright eyed and bushy tailed I'm come after you'

As soon as his brother had left Marcel dragged his feet out of the warm comfort of his, well Harry's, bed. Thinking back to last night he suddenly remembered what had actually caused him to wake up in his brothers room, he blushed a deep shade of red both from embarrassment and slight anger at himself, why couldn't he do something as simple as control his bladder? 

Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, something he had grown pro at doing, he made his way to the shower. It was turning to winter and the temperature was dropping but the cold air that usually hits when he undresses for a shower never came as Harry had had a shower not to long ago and therefore the room was relatively warm.

When he'd finished scrubbing himself with the vanilla body wash he loved (and had begged Harry to get) he switched the shower off and only then did he realise his mistake. Forgetfulness was a big problem for Marcel and it's times like these he felt lucky that he was completely comfortable around his brother

'Harry' he shouted and the sound ricocheted of the walls with a loud echo. A few seconds later Harry came strolling into the bathroom with a piece of toast in his hand wearing a slightly worried expression not bothering to knock 'Everything ok, you didn't hurt yourself did you?' 

'No I um f-forgot to get a towel' he said looking at his feet 'Ah ok don't worry I'll go grab you one' he said flashing Marcel a dimpled smile making all the sadness in Marcel's features melt away, Harry never made him feel stupid and he loved that about him.

After Harry had delivered his brother the fluffiest towel he could find he went back out to the kitchen to look for his keys as they'd have to leave soon and he always spent far to long rushing to find them and making Marcel late to which he always gets a death glare for.

Marcel emerged from the bathroom at the same time Harry found his keys dressed in loose fitting beige chinos and a white button down with a light grey cardigan, his hair was slicked back with a small amount of gel to tame his curls but nowhere near as much as he used to wear. 

Overall Marcel looked a lot like Harry did when he was seventeen just with different clothes and hair styles, the only real difference being Marcel had slightly darker hair and was slightly shorter, he also still had the roundness to his face that Harry himself used to have until he sort of grew into it. 

Harry looked up and smiled at his brother standing in the door frame 'right what do you want for breakfast Marcy?' Harry said clapping his hands together, Marcel just looked uninterested searching through his bag for something 'I'm not really hungry' 

Harry gave him a look 'Baby you have to eat something' Marcel looked up with a challenging expression 'No Hazzy I don't want to my tummy doesn't want it' he half whined 

Harry then gave him the-don't fuck with me on this you will lose-look that he had nailed   
'Im sorry that you're not feeling well Marcy but you have to eat something, how about I make you a small bowl of Cheerios?' Knowing they were Marcel's favourite 

The boy frowned but reluctantly moved towards the table and sat down while harry made his cereal 'what have you got today then darling' harry asked over his shoulder, Marcel tensed slightly but harry had his back turned so it went unnoticed 

'Drama, English, geography and art' he mumbled 'Well you like art don't you so that's something to look forward to' he said trying to cheer the pouting boy up. Harry knew his brother didn't enjoy school, knew Marcel's condition had an effect on how he learnt and made it much more difficult for him, Marcel was in no way stupid, he was in fact very intelligent it just took him longer to grasp concepts and he needed to have somebody to help him in his classes sometimes.

As soon as he had finished his cereal Marcel and Harry headed out of the flat and towards the car parked on the street outside. The drive only takes about 10 minutes so they put the radio on for the short drive. 

The song that came on next was one that Harry had co written with the artist and he still found it odd to hear his lyrics and thoughts on national radio like that

'Hazzy it's your song!' Marcel practically shouted, he loved what harry did and loved hearing his songs on the radio 'yeah it is, do you like it?' It was a pointless question since Marcel had played it on repeat for two days straight when it first came out but he loved being reassured that his boy likes his song writing 

'Of course' he said flashing that dazzling dimpled smile at his big brother while dancing along to it. Harry turned away with a chuckle from what Marcel was calming to be dance moves but really looked more like he was receiving a series of powerful electric shocks, however there was something undeniably endearing about it.

They pulled up to the school gates where a variety of teens where filtering through; none looking like they particularly wanted to be there. 'Alright well I'll be back at half three to pick you up, have a good day baby' he said as Marcel collected his backpack and open the car door 

'Okay bye hazzy' the look on his face worried Harry slightly and he made a mental note to question his brother about it later but for now he headed out of the parking lot and headed of to the studio to meet Ed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and feel free to tell me what you think xx


	3. Charter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody here's the next chapter it's a bit longer but I hope you like it xx

Marcel was sat at the back of the class chewing his pen and listening to Mr Greenstolen going on about the moon being a symbol of light and hope in the darkness of Romeo's soul, to be honest he thought Shakespeare was just trying to make the point of it being night time but each to their own.

He realised a bit to late that he'd underestimated quite how hard he had been biting the pen in his hand when he suddenly coughed and spluttered everywhere, looking down at his hands they were covered in ink. 

The whole class turned around in their seats to stare at Marcel and a wave of laughter rolled around the room. Blushing a deep shade of red Marcel stood up from his desk and bolted for the toilets where he proceeded to wash the black substance that was drying on his skin.

He looked up into the mirror where he caught his reflection and winced slightly, looking away. You see Marcel had some serious problems with self esteem in fact it was probably about as low as it could get, not only did he see a visibly flawed exterior whenever he looked in the mirror but with the knowledge he was mentally fucked as well it just tipped him over the edge 

Hot tears came fast, cascading down his cheeks, why was he such a cults? Now everybody's just going to laugh at him, the boy who got pen all over his face. Deep down he knew he was overreacting but he couldn't help it. Right now all he wanted was his duvet, the sofa, the TV and Harry. 

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, he didn't really see the point of it since the only person who really texts him was Harry or Niall but Harry had insisted. Grabbing it he saw a message flash up on the screen

Niall: hey m8 where r you I didn't see u come out of English

Marcel frowned at the wording of the message, he struggles to understand normal words let alone what Niall was saying, who's words more often that not he had to Google.

He used to ask Harry what they meant until one day Niall had typed a particularly rude word and Harry had given him and Niall a thorough talking to, yeah he hadn't gone to Harry again.

He ignored the message not feeling like talking to anyone right now and stayed in the toilets until the bell rang signalling the end of fifth period and the start of the last. He had drama which wasn't to bad it didn't involve lots of long words he didn't understand so he didn't get as frustrated.

However he did get embarrassed when they did live performances infront of each other and today they would be performing their end of term Shakespeare pieces to the rest of the class. The only thing that made it bearable was the looks of reassurance he would get of Mr Tomlinson. He was so nervous his stomach did a summersault but he tried to control his breathing, nobody wanted a repeat of last time when he'd gotten so nervous he'd actually passed out and Harry had to be called in threatening to have everybody sacked.

Picking up his bag and making sure his eyes didn't look like they had been shedding an ocean for the past fifteen minutes, he made his way towards the Drama hall. To his relief there were only two girls inside sat in the corner talking to each other so he was able to slip in unnoticed.

As the students slowly flowed in people where starting to wonder were Mr Tomlinson was, he was never late to class, in fact he had a strict no tolerance policy for lateness. That's when a middle aged man that couldn't be more than 35 strolled into the hall making everyone stop and stare. 

The man made his way to the front 'Hello everybody my names Mr Falwer-' he was cut off by a deep voice at the back of the hall 'Well it's not really is it' The whole room broke out into laughter but Mr Falwer's face didn't show a hint of amusement 

'Thank you for pointing that out Mr..'  
'The names Payne, Liam Payne' he said in a James Bond voice. Again the room dissolved into another fit of giggles. Marcel's lips curved up at the edges, he'd had a crush on Liam for the past two years but he was pretty sure Liam didn't even know he existed. He was the stereotypical captain of the football team who had girls and boys alike falling at his feet, yeah Marcel never stood a chance plus all his football friends hated him and took every opportunity available to make a mean comment about him. 

Niall came and sat down next to him then, they had been friends for years and to be honest he was the only friend Marcel really had, arriving late was kind of his style and you can probably tell that he's not Mr Tomlinson's favourite pupil. Nobody disliked Mr Tomlinson though he was just one of those teachers that got along with the pupils and didn't patronise them but treated them as equals.

'Well Mr Payne as you seem so confidant with speaking in front of people how about you be the first to perform for us' Liam just smiled and nodded, he seemed to have this natural aura about him that just screamed 'I don't give a fuck'

Marcel on the other hand was dreading it, more so now that Mr Tomlinson wasn't there to make him feel more confidant.  
\------------------------------------------

That sounds sick mate let's go one more time but maybe try going up at the bridge mid section this time. Harry was sat outside the recording booth watching Ed sing the demo to the new track when he heard his phone buzz, he picked it up and saw the schools number flash across the screen. Feeling an edge of panic he pressed the accept button instantly even though you weren't really suppose to use phones in here however they made an exception for Harry

'Hello' he said 'Hello is this Mr Styles?' a woman's voice came through the phone 'Yes how can I help you' his panic levels were rising, worried about what could have happened 'I'm just ringing to inform you that Marcel's drama class are performing their end of term pieces today, however as their normal teacher is away Marcel is refusing to do his and when asked by the covering teacher to perform he shouted at him and is getting himself into quite a state' 

Harry's heart was beating rapidly knowing how Marcel got when he dropped in to one of these episodes, he hated confrontation but if he felt strongly enough about something or backed into a corner he would engage in it and then feel awful after. He should have known one of these was coming on, Marcel had been withdrawn and restless for the past few days, how could he have been so stupid! 'Some of the learning support staff have tried to calm him  
but nothing seems to be working and given Marcel's situation we thought it best to call you'

Harry closed his eyes and internally sighed, this recording session was really important however Marcel always came first and right now that's where he needed to be 'Alright I'll be there in ten' he said and hung up the phone. He looked up and saw Ed had stopped sing and was giving him a worried look, Harry gestured for him to come out of the booth 

Ed removed the headphones he was wearing and exited 'Everything alright mate' Ed said sounding genuinely concerned 'it's Marcel he's having an episode at school, I'm going to have to go and get him sorry mate I know how important today was' 

'What? Don't even worry about it Haz I understand Marcel's needs come first and right now you need to get to him, we're pretty much finished her for the day anyway I'll get Reggie to finish up'. It was times like these Harry realised just how much he liked Ed 'thanks for understanding mate' Ed just rolled his eyes and brought him in for a one armed hug 'Go'  
\------------------------------------------

'Marcel it's only me, Kelly, please calm down sweetie' the young woman said in a calm voice edging towards the boy in the corner of the hall. Marcel was currently switching between sitting down and standing mumbling broken up sentences and words in between worryingly uneven breaths 

'No g-g-g-get away f-from me!' He practically screamed at the learning support worker before going back to mumbling to himself   
'b-but why'  
'just'  
'n-no'  
'doesn't have t-t-to' he mumbled getting himself more and more worked up and on edge.

He'd been getting these moods drops a lot less frequently lately but they did occasionally rear their ugly head again. They usually come with little warning and can last hours, it could be anything that set them off, even something small but Marcel works himself up so much it becomes something massive and he just goes into a headspace where he's not entirely aware of his actions and nothing makes sense; like he's lost in his own head. Even for a while after it's finished he's not 100% all there and needs extra special care and attention.

The whole drama class were around to witness it before Kelly had politely asked them all to leave and told them to go home early. Niall had been reluctant to leave but after his attempts of trying to talk to his friend and get him to calm down had ended with Marcel throwing a chair and it breaking against the wall he swiftly left knowing this wasn't the real Marcel and there was only really one person who could deal with him when he go like this.

Mr Falwer was standing at the front just staring at the scene unfolding before him, how was he suppose to know the boys mental state? nobody had told him. He'd simply asked Marcel to perform and he had refused so he asked again and the boy just lost it.  
\------------------------------------------

Harry pulled up to the school gates ten minutes later after breaking more than one of the legal speed limits, but right now he didn't care all he was focused on was getting to his boy. He pulled into a parking space and all but ran to the main reception approaching an elderly lady seated at a desk  
'Hello I'm Harry Styles I'm looking for Marcel' he rushed out  
'And of what relation are you?' She asked skeptically, clearly expecting a man in his mid forties not a 22 year old 

'It doesn't matter I'm his legal guardian now take me to him' Harry wasn't usually this rude but this woman was wasting his time. She gave him a pointed expression but never the less got up and started walking towards the Drama hall beckoning him to follow while debriefing him on what had happened. Harry felt a twinge of anger towards the cover teacher but reminded himself that he wasn't to know and if he wanted to bring Marcel up he needed to be calm.

Before they even entered the hall they could hear the commotion from inside 'N-N-NO' there was a rather large bang and the woman from reception opened the door, pushed harry inside and swiftly left.

The sight Harry was met with was one that he'd seen many times before and never enjoyed. Marcel was huddled in the corner, his breathing obviously laboured, fighting for breath, his body was shaking and twitching slightly and he was twisting and squeezing his fingers, something Harry had come to know was a sign that he was pretty far gone.

His eyes were darting around the room not really focussing on anything until he found harry and his eyes locked onto him, during these episodes he lost all facial recognition but for some reason somewhere in his mind he always recognised Harry. Giving Marcel a small smile he assessed the situation in the room, there was a man standing at the front looking at his brother like he was some kind of wild animal that would run over and tear his face off at any minute and there was a young girl who he believed was called Kelly ,from a previous meeting they'd had about Marcel, who was trying to coax Marcel.

The man at the front seemed to notice him at that point and came over blocking his view of Marcel much to Harry's distaste 'I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to leave' he said in a patronising voice clearly thinking harry was a student here or something 

'Well that just isn't going to happen mate, I'm his legal guardian so I suggest you move' he said in a much calmer voice than he felt, knowing if he were to raise his voice right now it would really send Marcel over the edge, even if Harry really did just want to punch him. The man gave him a funny look but stepped a side.

He advanced towards Marcel slowly with his hands up, the boy was murmuring inaudible words and occasionally looking in Harry's direction. 'Marcy it's Harry, what's happened darling?' He said in a soft tone 

His head snapped up at Harry's voice 'H-h-hazzy?' He said confused, and if that didn't break Harry's heart. 'Yeah sweetheart it's me'  
'I-I-I...' Marcel's eyes darted away 'No!' He shouted as Harry took a step closer 'Hey, hey it's ok babe just breath yeah' Every time Harry would take a step closer Marcel took one back until he was flush against the wall and had nowhere else to go shaking his head wildly 

'B-b-but they a-and h-h-he' Harry  
Could tell he was losing it fast and he new he had to get Marcel out of here and into a familiar setting that his brain registered as safe but he hated having to do this.

Despite Marcel's cries and shouts for him to get away Harry continued on towards him 'N-NO!' He shouted squirming on the wall realising he was trapped. Marcel grabbed the only thing he could find and picked up the chair next to him, holding it in front of himself and directly at Harry.

Harry stopped, putting his hands up and looking Marcel in the eyes 'wow wow wow baby it's just me, it's just Hazzy I'd never hurt you, you know that, I just want to help darling' Marcel just closed his eyes crying and shaking his head looking distraught. Harry took the opportunity to quickly close the gap between them, seizing the chair from Marcel's hands, being the stronger of the two he did it with ease, however Marcel's eyes snapped open and he lunged at Harry

Harry caught his arms before he could make contact and moving to stand behind him, he restrained them across Marcel's chest so Marcel's back was to his chest. He bucked wildly trying to shake of Harry's vice like hold, tears running freely down his cheeks 'S-S-STOP LET G-G-GO'

Harry hated seeing his brother like this but knew it was necessary. Marcel's breathing was completely out of control by this point, feeling confused, scared and upset. 'Shhhh shh Sweetheart it's ok nobody's going to hurt you, I just need you to breath for me' he whispered into Marcel's ear from behind while trying to dodge the head that was thrashing around.

Deep in Marcel's unconscious mind he knew Harry's voice and it soothed him slightly but right now he just couldn't understand why, he couldn't put the pieces together.  
'That's it baby you're doing so well, so proud of you' he whispered as Marcel's breathing started to come out more evenly and his thrashing calmed. 

It took another few minutes of standing like that, Harry holding Marcel's arms across his chest now with one arm, whispering reassuring words, running his fingers through Marcel's hair with his free hand and scratching his scalp, before the boy went pliant in Harry's arms  
'I-I d-d-don't u-u-understand Hazzy' he said in a broken whimper that went straight to Harry's heart

'I know you don't sweetheart but we'll go home and talk about it ok' Harry new he'd have to wait a a while before Marcel could properly communicate what had happened and right now he just needed reassurance and comfort. Marcel gave a weak nod before he was gently lifted into Harry's arms and cradled to his chest. He snuffled into the warmth and comfort he found there, the one place on earth he felt completely safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little nervous about this chapter but let me know what you thought xx


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I moved house and have no internet blah blah blah...here's the next chapter

By the time Harry had got himself and Marcel to the car, giving the odd pupil who gave him a slightly odd look an even dirtier one back, the boy had fallen asleep tucked into Harry's chest with dried tear tracks on his cheeks 'oh Marcy' he sighed, why did this have to happen to him? He was one of the most caring and lovely people Harry new yet he got himself into this mess over and over again over silly little things and ultimately ended up hurting himself.

Instead of risking waking the fragile boy in his arms, Harry lay him down in the back seat to let him sleep since it wasn't a very long journey and he prided himself on being a very safe driver. Closing the door softly and getting in the drivers seat he turned the radio on low and began the drive back to their flat, occasionally glancing in the rear view mirror to check on his little brother.

Not long after they pulled up outside their apartment building, Harry carefully picked Marcel up with little effort and carried him up to their floor, somehow one handedly opening the door while still supporting the boy in his arms.

He headed for Marcel's room where he went to put him down in the bed to rest but was unable to as the hands on his chest suddenly clung to his shirt and Marcel started to stir  
'H-Hazzy w-what happened' he said in a strained and sleepy voice balling up his hands into fists and rubbing his eyes 'Nothing bad babe you just need to rest for a bit and then later we can talk about how you're feeling ok' 

He went to lay him down again but the hands in his shirt wouldn't let go and just became tighter 'N-n-no Hazzy no!' he shouted practically trying to crawl into Harry's chest and make a home there. 'Shhh Calm down sweetheart everything's ok I'm right here' he said giving him a squeeze but one look at his brothers distraught, confused and desperate face with those pleading eyes, Harry new he just couldn't let him go

'Ok what if I stayed here with you until you fall back to sleep' he spoke softly placing a kiss onto Marcel's slightly damp face 'how does that sound?' Marcel nodded his head and Harry gently sat him on the end of the bed and took his shoes of, he also removed his trousers and put him in a soft and slightly oversized  
t-shirt, carefully lifting Marcel's arms into each sleeve until he was left in only his boxers and the big shirt.

It might look like unnecessary babying but Marcel really did struggle to do this himself when he was coming out of one of his episodes, his mind was just kind of hazed and foggy. Harry didn't mind at all though he actually enjoyed taking care of his brother like this, it made him feel needed and that was something Harry, ironically, always seemed to need.

They laid down in the centre of the big bed and harry pulled Marcel close to his chest, wrapping one arm around him and using the other to gently run his fingers through the boy's hair, massaging his scalp and occasionally leaving kisses on his face and in his hair.  
A quiet mumble broke the peaceful silence surrounding them

'Please don't leave me Hazzy' 

Those five words will always hit a spot in Harry's heart that nothing else could ever touch, he didn't know if Marcel was asleep or not but he replayed automatically, the grip on his little brother subconsciously tightening,  
'Never'  
\------------------------------------------

At some point Harry must have fallen asleep as well because he was woken by his phone buzzing on the nightstand and it was dark outside, the only light illuminating the room coming from the street lamp outside, bathing the room in an orange glow.

He looked down and Marcel was still fast asleep snuggled into his chest, his lips and noise twitching every now and again but other than that he appeared peaceful which was something Harry found very comforting

Grabbing his phone before it woke Marcel he saw he had three missed calls all from Ed. With an uneasy feeling he hit call and waited for him to pick up, on the second ring he heard Ed's frantic voice come through the phone 'Harry mate I need you to come down to the studio right now!' He says sounding frazzled 'wait Ed what is it what happened, calm down'  
'It's the track Harry, as you know it's suppose to drop at midnight but there's been a fuck up at the label and they've lost the paper work that says you sign the rights to the song over to me, because you wrote it, and now they're refusing to do anything until they get your signature but it's suppose to be released in less than four hours Haz, I need you here right now' 

Harry took a moment to take all the information in and when he did he realised why Ed sounded so stressed, it would take months to get a new release data and it needed to be dropped at midnight tonight if he wanted the track out before tickets for the upcoming tour went on sale, Ed never really had to worry about things like copyright as he almost always wrote his own material except for this one time.

'Ed man I know how important this is but you know about Marcel and I don't know if I can leave him right now' he said torn between his duty to his job and his duty, and more importantly need, to look after his boy, he glanced down at Marcel's face gently stroking his cheek with the back of his finger, it seemed to calm Harry and he took a few deep breaths  
'I know mate and I'm so sorry I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate but I need your signature or it's going to fuck everything up, is there not someone you can call to stay with Marcel just for a bit' he said sounding very desperate. 

As much as Harry hated the thought of leaving Marcel even for a second it was his duty to do this and the worst of Marcel's episode was over. 'Alright I'll be there just give me half an hour' he said hanging up the phone after receiving a countless amount of thanks from Ed.

There was only one person who he would ever leave Marcel with when he was like this and that was Zayn. So he phoned him and asked him to come and sit with Marcel for a bit and he instantly agreed saying he'd be there soon.

Harry was debating just letting Marcel sleep and hope he just stayed that way until he got back, but he didn't want to risk Marcel waking up and him not being there, he didn't want to confuse the boy more than today's events already had. So Harry gently shook his brothers shoulder while running his fingers through his hair 'Marcy wake up darling' 

Marcel scrunched up his nose and slowly dragged his eyelids back looking up at harry in the darkness 'Hazzy?' he groaned rubbing the side of his head 'M-my head hurts'  
'Aw baby I'll go and get you some painkillers'.

He left the room and headed to the kitchen reaching into the medicine cabinet looking for the paracetamol he needed, he was worried about leaving, what if Marcel needed him? What if he had a panic attack or even worse another episode? He felt like the worst person in the world it felt like he was putting work before his baby but he reminded himself that Marcel was through the worst of this and he was seventeen and not the 12 year old he once was, he also loved Zayn and he wouldn't be gone that long and he'd have his phone on him at all times.

After his little pep talk he walked back into Marcel's bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed putting a glass of water and the pills on the nightstand 'hey baby how are you feeling' he says to the boy who was sat up resting against the headboard with his knees drawn up to his chest  
'Better' 

After taking the pills, Harry took Marcel's hand giving his a smile 'hey babe I have to go down to the studio, just for a little bit, to sort some stuff out-  
'W-w-what H-Hazzy no' Marcel said cutting him of mid sentence, his eyes going wide and clenching Harry's hand.

The look on his little brothers face almost made him change his mind but he needed to do this 'no no baby it's ok' he said stroking his hair back still clasping his hand 'Zaynie is going to come and stay with you and I'll be back in no time' Marcel's eyes lit up slightly at the mention of Zayn's name which made Harry feel a little less like the horrible person he was

'You promise' he said with a frown 'Cross my heart, I could never stay away from you for too long anyway' he says tapping his nose making Marcel giggle. He loved that sound. 'Hazzzzy' Marcel complained batting the offending hand away 'Are you going now?' Marcel asks 'Not for a few minutes until Zayn gets here'  
'Can I watch a movie?' He asked sounding a lot younger than he was but he often did after an episode 'yeah of corse sweetheart, come on we'll go and pick one' he said standing of the bed and holding his hand out.

Marcel took his hand and after putting some soft jogging bottoms on they made their way towards the sofa in the sitting room. Marcel layed down length ways and Harry went to get him a pillow and blanket coming back and draping it over Marcel 

'What would you like to watch?' He asked heading over to their extensive collection of movies 'um can you put finding Nemo on?' He asked timidly with a hint of a blush painting his cheeks  
'Well if you didn't ask for it I would have' Harry said flashing Marcel a dimpled smile, getting an almost identical one back.  
\------------------------------------------

It was about 15 minutes into the movie, at the point that Nemo had just daringly touched the illusive 'butt' much to the octopus' dismay, that the doorbell went and Harry carefully detangled himself from behind Marcel and the quilt making his way to open the door to reveal a tired eyed Zayn in a white shirt, black skinny jeans and leather jacket standing behind it  
'Hey mate thanks for coming' Harry said ushering Zayn through the door 

'No problem bro, how's he doing?' Zayn asked as they made there way to the kitchen 'yeah he's doing better, over the worst but he's still a bit jittery and sensitive' Zayn nodded his head in understanding having seen Marcel like this enough times before. 

'Hey Zaynie' Marcel shouted excitedly from his place on the sofa in his cocoon of blankets when he spotted Zayn 'hey trouble how ya feeling' Zayn asked ruffling Marcel's curls  
'Alright, do you want to watch Nemo with me?' he asked with glassy eyes  
'Sure just let me talk to Haz and then we can snuggle up and watch it yeah?' Marcel gave an excited nod of approval and burrowed back down into the blankets.

Harry and Zayn went into the kitchen for some privacy not wanting to disturb Marcel when he's in a comfortable and relaxed state which is what he needed right now. 'Hey so are you heading out now then?' Zayn asked as Harry searched around for his keys 'yeah mate sorry I would stay and explain some more but I really need to get down to the studio I mean I haven't even spoken to Marcel about today yet but I'll do that tomorrow and we can talk when I get back, I should only be about an hour and don't forget he needs his shot and he can't stay up past eleven and he hasn't eaten but there's some Pasta in the fringe that can be warmed up but he doesn't like it too hot an-' Harry hadn't even realised he hadn't breathed in a while until Zayn cut him off 

'Haz calm down alright' Zayn said holding his hands up 'I know what to do I've known him since he was a kid I can handle this, stop worrying and go sort this mess out, me and Marcel will be perfectly fine I'll warm up some food and give him his shot then we'll sit and watch a movie okay' 

Harry let out a deep breath giving Zayn a thankful look, he really did love him and despite what it sounded like there's no one he would trust more with Marcel when he was like this 'alright thanks mate I'll try and be quick' he said giving Zayn a one armed hug 'Go' Zayn said giving him a little push into the living room and towards the door.

Harry stopped by Marcel leaning over the back of the sofa to kiss him on the head 'hey babe I'm going now but I'll be back really soon ok' he said running a hand through his hair 'okay Hazzy love you' Harry smiled 'Love you too sweetheart'

With one final look at Marcel he exited through the door with a reassuring look from Zayn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Louis, Liam and Niall haven't really been talked about yet but in the upcoming chapters they will be, I just felt it important to establish Harry and Marcel's relationship before anything else as that's the stories main point but we'll be seeing more of Louis, Liam, Niall and others soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait college is taking it out of me, anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter xxx

'Marcy stop it's ok it will be over soon I promise' Zayn said, he had spent the past 10 minutes trying to convince Marcel to take his shot, it wasn't the first time he'd delivered it, in fact he was the only other person other than Harry that Marcel would let anywhere near him with it.

Everything had been going fine, he had made Marcel dinner and they watched Finding Nemo but Marcel was just flat out refusing to let Zayn inject him. He can't say he wasn't expecting something like this, Harry was the only person Marcel 100% trusted and Zayn new that, after an episode it got even more evident so he's not surprised at the boys reaction.

'Noooooo' Marcel whined 'I want Hazzy' he said squirming further back into the sofa, holding both his arms tightly to his body. Zayn sighed admitting defeat, getting Marcel worked up was not a good idea, not to mention Harry would be pissed. Resorting to his last hope, he reached for his phone dialling Harry's number while Marcel eyed him warily. 

He almost thought it would go to voicemail but on the last ring Harry's voice came through the line sounding a mix between stressed, worried and plain tired 'Zayn? Is everything ok? Did something happen? I knew I shouldn't have left!' Harry's voice was getting more and more panicked as the sentence went on.

'Haz mate calm down everything is fine Marcel's just being a bit fussy about his shot'. Bless him, Zayn knew how hard Harry worked and how much he worried about Marcel, he had been there from the beginning, was at court when Harry went for full custardy.  
'Oh okay well is he there? Could you pass me over' 

'Yeah he's right here' Zayn said holding the phone out to Marcel who took it eagerly ' H-Hazzy?' he stuttered 'hey baby what's going on? Zayn tells me you don't want to take your shot' he said in a soft voice. Harry had been gone for around 45 minutes at this point. 'Dont want to Hazzy' he said sounding very childlike  
'aw sweetheart I know you don't like it but you need it we've talked about this remember' 

'No Hazzy I want you to do it!' Marcel said and harry could hear the tell tale signs of a panic attack coming on in his voice 'hey hey hey Marcy baby it's ok just breath, can you breath for me?' He said and Marcel's shaky breaths reduced a little 'that's it good boy, now how about I stay on the phone while Zayn gives you your medicine?' Harry suggested praying to every God out there that Marcel would go for it because there's no way he could get back in time to give it to him on time, he should have given it to him before he left, how could he be so careless! 

Marcel made a unimpressed noise but slowly nodded his head not realising in the moment that Harry couldn't actually see him. 'Marcy use your words baby' he prompted softly yet firm  
'O-ok'  
'Good boy' Harry said letting out a silent sigh of relief.

'Zayn got the main gist of the conversation and slowly took Marcel's arm giving the boy a comforting smile, however it did little to help the uncomfortableness in Marcel's stomach. Marcel let out a whine 'hey baby I'm right here ok, nothing bad is going to happen I promise, I will never let anything bad happen to you'  
'H-h-Hazzy I don't like it' Marcel cried however at that moment Zayn stood up, discarded the used needle on the coffee table and sat next to Marcel pulling the boy to his chest 'all done' he said loud enough so he knew harry would hear too

'There we go baby you did it! I'm so proud of you, you were so brave!' Harry said down the line to which Marcel let out a small chuckle and a hint of a smile caressed his features, 'when are you coming back Hazzy?' He asked while Zayn was playing mindlessly with his hair while watching the end of Finding Nemo 

'Soon sweetheart I promise I'm nearly done here and then I'll come straight home, it's time for you to go to bed now but I'll come and say goodnight when I get there, could you pass the phone back to Zayn please'  
'Ok bye Hazzy'  
'Bye munchkin'

Marcel handed the phone back to Zayn and rested his head back on his chest. 'Hey mate how's it going?' Zayn asked 'we sorted it all out and the release is still happening at midnight, could you just put Marcel to bed and we'll talk when I get back I shouldn't be too long I'm going to leave in the next ten minutes'  
'Yeah sure mate see you later'  
'Bye'

Zayn placed his phone back on the coffee table and looked down at Marcel, the boy was half asleep on his chest, playing with his hair will do that, a trick he'd learned long ago 'hey sausage it's time to go to bed' he said softly, any other night and Marcel probably would have protested saying he was not a baby but he was so damn tired after today that he had no objections to a soft bed. He raised his head and sat up rubbing his eyes, Zayn stood and stretched out his arms for Marcel to take to help him up which Marcel took and heaved himself of the sofa.

He walked him to his bedroom and left him to brush his teeth alone only coming back 10 minutes later to check he was ok to which he found a passed out Marcel under his covers. Smiling softly at the sight he quietly closed the bedroom door and made his way back to the living room where he picked up the discarded needle and package walking to the kitchen to dispose of them. 

There was a rattling of keys and a minute later an exhausted looking Harry was walking into the kitchen 'well you look like shit' Zayn said with a slight side smirk to which harry simply gave him the middle finger,  
'how was he?' Harry asked  
'Yeah fine we watched Finding Nemo and I gave him some pasta, he's passed out now'  
Harry nodded slowly, 'I'll just go check on him'  
Zayn nodded going to the sink to do the few dishes that were there.

Harry quietly opened the door to Marcel's room, creeping in to find a passed out boy amongst the covers, he softly placed a kiss into his curls ,now free of gel, and left the room with one fond look back. 

'Hey I really do appreciate you doing this mate' he said re-entering the kitchen 'Bro we've talked about this no matter when, where or what time, I'm always here if you need me, either of you, you know you're like family to me, I love you both'  
Harry smiled at his friend 'yeah we love you to, I don't know what I'd do without you'  
'Yeah well luckily for you you'll never have to find out, anyway enough with all this girly shit, what's this day done to you to make you look like you've been beaten repeatedly with a shit stick?' Zayn said casually.

'Thanks mate' Harry said with a laugh 'it's just Marcel hadn't had an episode in a while and I can't help but think I should of done something about it, I mean he'd been showing signs of one for days but I didn't even think, what's wrong with me!' Harry said practically pulling out his hair. 'Hey no don't you dare go blaming yourself for what happened today it was not your fault, there was nothing anyone could have done to stop it' Zayn said moving over to lean against the counter next to harry  
'I could have made the outcome less damaging though! If he'd been at home he wouldn't have had such a massive scene and in front of everyone!' 

'Haz stop beating yourself up about this, he's going to have episodes in different scenarios it's inevitable and if that fucking supply teacher had a bit more sense he would have handled it better, look this was nobodies fault you're amazing with that boy and he thinks the world of you, trust me you don't get that without doing something right, now stop all this blaming shit and lets just move on, he had an episode, you dealt with it and now he's perfectly fine, stop being such a twat' 

Harry rubbed his face and looked at Zayn 'thanks Z'   
'Yeah well I am pretty amazing' he said smirking and swishing his hair.  
Harry shoved him and nearly sent him flailing to the ground to which Zayn let out an undignified squawk 'Ahahah what the hell was that' Harry said bending over laughing  
'Well what do you expect a man to do when he gets taken out by a lanky giant' Zayn said in his defence 'I'm pretty sure men don't make that noise mate' Harry said trying to control himself 'yeah well I'm pretty sure 'men' don't wear necklaces and have hair buns but there we go funny old world' 

Harry smiled enjoying the careless banter with his friend to which Zayn smiled back. 'Well I best be off, got work in the morning' Zayn said shrugging his jacket on and picking up his keys 'yeah mate and thanks again for everything'  
'Don't mention it bro anytime'.  
They gave each other a bro hug and Zayn left with a salute, harry just chuckled as the door was closed, that guy was an idiot but he loved him.

 

\------------------------------------------

The next morning harry was woken up by what he assumed was the tv. He looked over at the clock which read 10:45, wow he had overslept. He sat up stretching and pulled on some sweats leaving his top half bare and made his way towards the living room. He found Marcel underneath the furry blanket on the sofa watching a re run of friends giggling every now and again, he just stood in the door way leaning against the frame until he got caught.

'Harry! I'm sorry did I wake you?' He said looking towards his big brother, Harry smiled softly and stood up straight 'no babe don't worry you should have woke me up' he said walking passed the tv and towards the joint kitchen ruffling Marcel's hair on in his way 'no you needed to sleep you looked really tired yesterday'  
Bless him he was so sweet Harry's heart melted a bit.

'Have you eaten anything?' Harry asked from the kitchen knowing that Marcel probably hadn't since they didn't really have much in the house and Harry had pretty much forbid him to use the oven 'no there's nothing to eat' Marcel replayed slightly grumpily from his spot on the sofa. Harry took a look in the cupboards and found a quarter box of dried out cornflakes and some rice.

'Yeah fair point I think it's time to do some shopping' he frowned. 'Noooooo' Marcel whined smashing his face into a pillow, Harry walked over to him 'come on you can come as well it'll do you good to get out of the house'  
'Harrrryyyy I don't want to go shopping it's boring and what if people from school are there that saw what happened yesterday?' Marcel said with a pout  
'We probably won't run into anyone and if anyone says anything I'll kick their ass, come on Marcy I need my wing man to help out and there might be something in it for you' he said with a raised eyebrow.

Marcel slowly lifted his face from the pillow 'gummy bears?' He said with a smirk 'well only if you come and get them' Harry said standing up and walking towards his bedroom to get changed and do his teeth. 'Fine I'll come' Marcel shouted with a groan making Harry smiled widely. 

They both emerged 15 minutes later with clean teeth and fresh clothes, well harry strongly suspected Marcel was rocking the pair of trousers he had worn yesterday but he didn't have the heart to tell him to change today, Marcel had a pale blue polo on with them and his brown boots with some gel to tame the curls on his head, Harry had grown his out so it wasn't as wild as Marcel's, he just put it up in a bun not having the patients or effort to style it just to go to the shop.

'Ready?' He asked looking towards Marcel and picking his keys up from the side 'yeah let's go'

\------------------------------------------

After spending 10 minutes looking for a parking space, in which Harry got slowly more and more annoyed, saying some choice words to a female driver who thought it was ok to steal Harry's spot right from under him which just made Marcel laugh, they finally unbuckled and entered the supermarket.

'Oooo can we get these?' Marcel asked picking up a box containing some sort of chocolate covered cereal 'no Marce, stop picking everything up you can get the gummy bears but that stuff's full of sugar, it's not good for you',  
Marcel stuck his tongue out causing Harry to just roll his eyes 'don't care if it's bad for me' he said sulkily, his bottom lip protruding, 'well bad luck because I do' harry said smiling at his little brother and moving on to the next isle with a grumpy faced Marcel following along behind him.

Once he entered the isle he caught sight of a shortish man with his back to him, displaying what harry unadshamabley would call a great ass, reaching for a jar of apple sauce that was just out of his reach. Harry walked over and reached up easily grabbing the jar and handing it to the male who spun around to see who the stranger was.

Harry was met with the most shockingly blue eyes he had ever seen, usually you would see coldness in blue eyes but Harry could find nothing but warmth 'thanks mate' the stranger said placing the jar into his basket  
'Don't worry about it they make these shelves way to high' he said gesturing towards them, the man let out a laugh (giggle) and harry doesn't think he's ever heard anything better, 'bane of my life' 

Marcel finally caught up to Harry and when he reached him he uninterestedly glanced at the stranger his brother was talking to and froze, Harry noticed this and gently nudged his brother, frowning 'you alright Marcy' he asked. Marcel didn't look at him, his eyes were locked on the stranger 

'M-Mr Tomlinson'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave me your thoughts xxx


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hella wait guys

Harry finally decided to cut the tension that had formed between the three, 'Wait Mr Tomlinson? That sounds familiar' he said staring at the man in front of him  
'Um yeah well I'm a drama teacher, I have Marcel in my class' He explained with a kind smile that Harry couldn't, for some reason, take his eyes off

'Oh yeah of course I remember, Marce has spoken about you' Harry said looking to Marcel who still looked slightly like a deer caught in headlights, but at that point he snapped his head up 'How are you?' The man asked to Marcel 'I heard about what happened I'm so sorry, I was away on a training day and forgot to talk to the supply' He said looking very guilty. 

A beat passed and when there was only some awkward shuffling from Marcel Harry decided to intervene, normally he would reprimand his brother for being so rude but he knew how the boy felt about talking about his condition with others so he let it slide

'He's doing much better thanks, I was wondering though what's going to happen about his grade? I know that piece was assessed' Harry said mentioning his worries about Marcel's grades to the teacher.  
'Oh yes don't worry about it, if Marcel here is okay with it I was planning on having him simply perform for me next lesson, nobody else' he said looking back and forth between the two. Marcel glanced up at the teacher nodding slightly  
'great that's sorted then' Mr Tomlinson said smiling widely.  
'Hey babe' a shortish man with short blond hair and a bit of scruff said as he came up behind Mr Tomlinson, wrapping his arms around the slightly shorter man's waist who jumped slightly 'hey sweetheart, this is Marcel he's a student in one of my classes and...' he cut off as he looked at Harry 'I'm so sorry I never got your name' he said blushing slightly. Harry couldn't work out why he felt a pang of disappointment and almost jealousy at the sight of the two men, what was wrong with him? This man was a stranger and not to mention Marcel's teacher! 

He shook himself as he realised a pair of blue eyes were staring at him. 'Oh yeah Harry, I'm Harry, Marcel's older brother' he said 'well it was nice to meet you and nice to see you Marcel' he said with kind eyes aimed at the two 'yeah you too' Harry said as Louis and his, Harry was guessing boyfriend, started walking away, Marcel giving a small wave. If Harry's eyes lingered a little on Mr Tomlinson's lower region as he walked away then no one had to know, well they wouldn't have if Mr damn Tomlinson hadn't decided to turn around suddenly, to which Harry instantly decided to become very interested in the selection of sauces in front of him letting out a cough.

Marcel let out a laugh knowing exactly what his big brother was doing, however his laughing fit was bought to a premature end with a jab to the ribs. If Harry was still looking though he'd have saw the slight smirk that graced Mr Tomlinson's features.

'Oh Marcel'  
Marcel's eyes snapped to his teacher at the mention of his name 'Um yes sir' he said timidly 'I noticed that I don't have your permission slip for the trip to Manchester back'  
The little colour that Marcel did possess in his face faded at that statement and it didn't go unnoticed by Harry

'Babe what's he talking about?' Harry asked with a confused frown, Mr Tomlinson sporting a similar one. Marcel simply looked sheepishly at his shoes  
'We have a trip scheduled to see Macbeth at the stable stage in Manchester next week, it's really important that every student attends as we will be doing 60% of the written exam on it' He explained to Harry. 

Harry wasn't really sure what to think after hearing that, why would his boy not tell him about it? I mean he didn't exactly lie but he wasn't exactly honest, he didn't understand why Marcel wouldn't want to go, he'd loved live theatre for as long as Harry could remember, he remembers vividly the time when Marcy demanded to be taken to go see Swan Lake when he was eight and proceeded to cry until Harry agreed to take him. 

Harry hadn't spoken in quite a few moments, too lost in his thoughts to notice the awkward demeanour Mr Tomlinson had taken on. 'Yeah don't worry about it I'll just call your parents in the morning' he said and started to walk away. Harry quickly snapped out of it in time to once again see that fine ass walking away from him.

'No Mr Tomlinson wait!' The short man spun around on his heels 'yeah' he said with raised eyebrows 'I am Marcel's legal guardian, he doesn't live with our parents'. The man's face took on a surprised look which he quickly controlled 'oh well I guess I'll discuss it with you then, here' he said gesturing for Harry's hand which he handed over. The teacher pulled a pen out of nowhere and started drawing on Harry's hand 'it's my email, send me a message and we cam discuss it'. Harry nodded his head 'alright well I better go find Drew before he gets the seeded bread' He said with a look of pure discussed like the variety of bread personally offended him. 

Harry laughed slightly and they bid fair well. He turned to the boy who had remained very quiet through the whole encounter  
'we need to talk'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, I'm back and I'm going to try and get the next chapter up later this evening

The drive back home is tense to say the least, Marcel just sits in the passenger seat staring out the window. Harry finally decides to just get it over with so he turns the radio down and glances at Marcel when they come to a red light 

‘Marcy why didn’t you tell me you had a school trip coming up? You love theatre’ Harry says as gently as he can 

Marcel just curls in on him self and makes a whining noise. Harry hates pushing his brother when he’s like this, he knows its not good for him mentally, it’s the feeling of being trapped that usually sets of his episodes but Harry is always very careful in how he approaches these things, he knows Marcel’s limits but he can't let this drop, not when it comes to Marcel's schooling and grades, not when Harry’s fought so hard for Marcel to be in a mainstream education or education at all for that matter.

‘Marcy babe I’m not mad okay I’m just confused you have to talk to me or I can’t help you’ Harry says somewhat desperately 

Marcel finally lifts his head up and glances at his big brother but maintains his curled in stance on the seat, drawing his knees up to his chest, ‘I-I just don’t want to H-hazy’ he says with a slight stutter

‘I know darling I get that but you need to tell me why’ Harry says in a soft voice that Marcel is usually very receptive to

‘P-p-please h-h-h-hazzy I-I can’t’ Marcel manages to say, his breathing becoming more erratic, a tell tell sign to Harry that a panic attack is coming on 

‘Okay okay babe don’t worry it’s okay’ Harry calms him as they pull up outside their apartment. They get out the car and before the older man can say anything Marcel takes off up the stairs leaving Harry to just watch after him. He isn’t mad, he really isn't, but Marcel needs to go on that drama trip and if he doesn’t tell Harry why he doesn't want to go Harry doesn’t really know what he's suppose to do. He doesn’t spend long stood by the car dwelling on it though knowing that Marcel doesn’t have a key so he needs to go and let him in, he’ll call Zayn when he gets in and see what he says, its good to get another perspective sometimes when it comes to Marcel.

 

As soon as they get in Marcel takes off to his room which Harry can’t say surprised him. He makes his way to the kitchen with the groceries and puts them on the counter top while he goes to the bathroom quickly. When he comes back to the kitchen he starts putting away the groceries, he pulls up Zayn’s number on his phone and dials it putting it on loud speaker. It’s half four by now so Harry knows that Zayn should be out of his last lecture of the day, he works as an art teacher at the local university, a fact that Harry finds endless joy in teasing him about since they were in school together not too long ago and Harry distinctly remembers Zayn forever bunking of class and giving teachers a hard time.

Zayn picks up on the fourth ring with a cheery ‘hey mate you okay?’ 

‘Hey Zee, I don’t know it’s Marcel, he’s hiding something from me’ Harry says worriedly explaining the situation to Zayn and telling him what happened in the supermarket with Mr Tomlinson

‘That’s strange, and he never mentioned anything?’ Zayn says in a confused tone knowing full well that Marcel rarely lies at all let alone to Harry

‘No nothing! If we hadn’t bumped into his teacher I never would have found out’ Harry says frustrated 

‘Maybe it’s some of the people in his class? Or maybe he doesn’t like Mr Tomlinson?’

‘I don’t know about the people in his class but he likes Mr Tomlinson I know that for a fact, he’s mentioned him before’

'I could maybe come and try and talk him? I wouldn’t worry too much though Haz, I’m sure it’s nothing too bad we’ll get to the bottom of it’ Zayn says as a matter of fact 

‘Yeah that would be great zee’ 

They fall into a comfortable conversation about their days, Zayn recounting an interesting story to Harry about how one of his students turned in a piece of work that involved a stick man that clearly took 10 minutes to create and had the nerve to call it abstract which had Harry creasing up. ‘Alright well I’ll go and try talk to Marcy’ Harry says 

‘Okay mate tell me how it goes’ Zayn replies 

‘Will do, bye Zee’

‘Bye Haz’

Once he’s finished putting away the groceries he frowns slightly as he realises he never came across the chocolate spread, he could have sworn he bought some, he shrugs it off making a note to buy some the next times he’s out, he knows it’s Marcy’s favourite. 

When he reaches Marcel's room he knocks quietly, ‘Marcy’ he says a bit louder when there’s no reply, ‘Marcy I know your upset but I just want to talk’  
When there’s still no reply from his little brother he opens the door and peers around it, however the sight he’s met with is not what he was expected, Marcel wasn’t under his blankets like Harry was expecting, in fact Marcel wasn’t in the room at all.  
Panic flows through Harry instantly, he runs through the apartment shouting Marcel’s name, panic become more evident when it becomes clear that Marcel isn’t in the house  
‘Shit!’ Harry shouts   
His little brother, his boy, was gone


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love hearing what you guys think good or bad so don't be shy x

‘Drew where are the red peppers!’ louis yells from the modern yet homely kitchen of his apartment

‘What do you mean they’re in the bag’ Drew’s voice comes from the living room, he's playing on the X-box so Louis honestly isn't surprised by the vauge response to be perfectly honest

‘No, they’re not or I wouldn’t be asking’ Louis says in a sarcastic tone

After receiving no response from Drew, Louis comes to the conclusion that his dopey other half must have forgotten to put them in the basket when he’d asked. Huffing he throws his arms up in the air like the dramatic man he is and accepts the fact he’d have to go all the way back to the shop if he wanted to make fajitas tonight ‘guess if you want anything done you have to do it yourself’ he mutters under his breath. He grabs his trainers from the door and slips them on quickly  
‘I’m going to the shop babe I’ll be back later!’ He receives a grunt in return to which Louis rolls his eyes. He grabs his coat seeing as it’s getting late and the temperature has dropped and with that he leaves his reasonably sized apartment. 

He doesn’t live with Drew officially it’s kind of complicated, they had been together forever and as much as he loves Drew they still have their separate apartments but spend most of their time at Louis’, Louis prefers being in his home, he’s a really home body.

He decides to walk the mile between the shops and his apartment, he enjoys the outdoors and walking in the evenings it has always been a peaceful activity for him. While he's walking his phone buzzes showing him he has an unread email, but it wasn’t from his personal account it’s his school one which was strange because he doesn’t usually log into his school email on his phone, he must have forgot to log out at lunch today, the teacher training day was exactly like he thought it would be and what it always is, mind numbingly boring and he’s not even ashamed of the fact he spent half of the ‘team building exercise’ on his phone. 

He opens his email and sees it's addressed from Debbie.Richards@hotmail.com

Now as a teacher there are the parents of children you are desperate to talk too, like those of children who are particularly hard to teach due to their behaviour or lack of skill, and then there’s the parents you really don’t care for due to their irritating persistence on every detail involving their precious little angles. Debbie Richard happens to fall into the box of parents that Louis particularly doesn’t care for, as he has little to say to her about her child, however she seems to have an awful lot to say to Louis to his total dismay. 

‘Uhhh God’ Louis says to himself which causes the guy walking passed him to give him a very funny look but Louis just brushes it off, he’s a drama teacher so he’s not easily embarrassed and he’s sure if the guy he just passed had ever had the misfortune of meeting Debbie Richards he’d do the exact same. Debbie is one of the parents he likes to refer to as the ‘pushy nightmares’ who like to tell him how to do his job, who’s child could never do any wrong or God forbid get anything below an A. Debbie happened to be the mother of a student of his called Jeremy, a rather scrawny boy in his year 10 class on a Friday afternoon. Jeremy is not a particularly bad kid but he definitely isn’t a star pupil and a bit of an attention seeker if you ask Louis, when it comes to his grades he’s not the brightest spark either, Louis distinctly remembers giving him a D on an assessment last year and you should have seen the length of the email he received.

He inwardly groans and begins reading the rather lengthy email, what he concludes from the five paragraph saga is basically verbatim what she’d said in her last email, unsurprisingly she only sent that two days ago, Jeremy is part of the class going on the Macbeth trip to Manchester next week and Debbie likes to remind Louis for the 100th time that Jeremy has a nut allergy and also needs to take his hay fever tablets. Honestly Louis knows all this she’s told him enough times, regardless of his private life he’s a very responsible teacher and knows how much responsibility it is to take a class of eighteen 15-16 year olds away for a night. He’d included all the medical information on the permission slips sent out to parents two weeks ago and Louis can confirm he definitely got Jeremy’s, however no matter how many times he tells Debbie that she still doesn’t seem to grasp that Louis knows what he’s doing. He’s done this trip for the last three years so he knows how it goes. 

He politely reminds Debbie in a responding email that he is aware of all of Jeremy's allergies and needs and tells her for the fifth time they will be leaving the school Saturday at 9am and returning Sunday at 3pm. He sends if off and prays to every God out there that Debbie finally leaves him alone, for a week at least if he's lucky.

He comes back to the world around him and realises he’s practically at the shops now just walking through the park behind it, it’s quite a deserted park with only one girl who looks about 8 using the swings. Just as he’s exiting to cross the street to the shopping complex he hears sniffling from a bush next to him ‘wha’ he whispers to himself, bushes don’t sniffle. The inner caring teacher in him comes out and he decides to squat down and look through the shrubbery to see what is going on.

To Louis’ surprise he sees a student, Marcel, from one of his classes at school who’d he’d seen earlier that day with his brother if he remembers correctly. Marcel only joined his class last year and Louis took an instant liking to the kid, he’s aware that Marcel has a few learning difficulties but can’t remember his condition exactly, he’d always been a quiet and well-behaved student and never failed to get high grades even if he is probably one of Louis’ most shy students. He heard about what happened in class with the assessed piece and Marcel’s freak out, he feels so guilty he completely forgot to leave a note for the supply informing him of the boy’s special circumstances.

Marcel was curled up with his knees to his chest with slightly messy hair which looked to have been messed up by what seemed like all the branches around him, also as Louis looked at him he looked to be clutching a pot of some kind. Louis must have trod on a branch because at the snapping sound Marcel’s head whipped to the side and he made direct eye contact with the teacher, the older man could now confirm the sniffling sounds were definitely coming from Marcel as he could now see the redness of the boy’s face and the large tear tracks coming down his puffy cheeks. The sight honestly broke Louis’ heart, the boy looked so young, lost and vulnerable. Louis was no expert with Marcel’s condition but he’s aware enough that he knows Marcel can ‘drop’ and go into a slightly regressed state. He’d never experienced it with Marcel in his class but he’s heard stories from some of the teachers about passed incidents and he’d built up a pretty good and trusting relationship with the boy.

As gently and non-confrontationally as possible Louis smiled at the boy who was just staring at him like a deer caught in headlights ‘Hey Marcel it’s me Mr Tomlinson’ he said gently 

Marcel looked at him with recognition so he clearly wasn’t in a full-blown episode however the tearful boy didn’t say anything ‘What are you doing out her all by yourself it’s very cold, are you okay darlin’ Louis coxed, Marcel stayed still for a minute but then slowly looked down and shook his head ‘Why don’t you come out and we can have a chat yeah’ Louis said in a kind voice 

Marcel paused and stared at his teacher, he must have trusted something in the man’s eyes because he began to crawl out of his little hidden away space in the shrubbery to Louis’ complete relief ‘Hey that’s it, thank you so much’ Louis said smiling with his eyes crinkling at the edges

Marcel slowly got to his feet with Louis’ help still clutching what now looked suspiciously like chocolate spread in his hand and a spoon in the other that Louis only now just noticed, not taking a genius to realise what the boy had been doing. He can’t really judge, Louis isn’t foreign to comfort eating, he didn't get the ass he's pretty proud of by simply squatting at the gym, he wouldn’t go as far as straight up chocolate spread with a spoon though but each to their own, he wasn’t about to judge. Louis smiled at the boy and lead him over to the bench next to them.

‘So, what’s got you hiding out here then huh’ Louis asked light heartedly with a smile 

‘Um I-I just wanted to go out for a bit’ the young boy replied sniffling but thankfully he wasn’t crying anymore to Louis’ relief, he didn’t think his heart could take seeing Marcel cry

‘I get you, I enjoy coming out in the evenings, it’s nice, I usually wrap up warm though, you look awfully cold’ Louis observed looking at the boy in a thin looking pair of chinos and a stripped short sleeve shirt with a collar

‘I-I’m fine Mr Tomlinson’ he said shakily and even if Louis did believe him the break in Marcel's voice said otherwise

‘Does Harry know you’re out here?’ Louis asked, he hoped he wasn’t over stepping and prayed that he had got the curly haired man's name right, but he had a strong suspicion that Harry didn’t know his little brother was out here in this state

Marcel shrugged his shoulders and looked down almost ashamed which confirmed Louis’ suspicion ‘Hey where do you live Marcel?’ Louis asked casually 

‘R-Rowbrooke building’ Marcel replied in a quiet voice. Rowbrooke? If Louis is not mistaken that building isn’t far from here, it’s a nice area

‘Hey Marce I’m just going to the shop because Drew, being the dopey man he is, forget to get peppers’ that made Marcel smile slightly and Louis fells particularly proud of himself for a moment ‘how about you come with me and then we can walk back by your place, its practically on my way back anyway’ Louis said praying the boy will agree because there’s no way he’s leaving the boy out here like this

‘But Hazzy will be mad a-at me’ Marcel says shakily like that point particularly upsets him, Louis presumed ‘Hazzy’ was what Marcel called his brother 

‘I’m sure your brother is beside himself with worry, he probably just wants to see you’ Louis said 

It took a moment but Marcel finally agreed, ‘o-okay’ the young boy says looking at Louis for the first time since they sat on the bench 

‘Good!’ Louis says his face lighting up with a smile ‘Come on let’s get going I need to get back and make Drew his dinner or he gets all cranky’ The older man said making a face. Marcel actually laughed at that and they set of towards the shop for the second time that day.

**Author's Note:**

> My first proper fanfic so I apologise for any grammatical mistakes. I'm not sure how many chapters there's going to be yet


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